I think I’m guilty of trying to make it mean something to me before I experienced it. In other words, I went to cover my first Packers-Bears game with unrealistic expectations. I was underwhelmed. I was expecting “War of the Worlds” and what I got was a football game. The two games in 2013 gave me the tingle I was seeking. Last year, the tingle went away. We’ll see what happens on Sunday.

Do the Packers have any defensive players that intimidate opponents? I don’t see a Ray Lewis kind of presence on the team.

In 44 years of covering the NFL, I’ve only covered three players I would refer to as having been truly physically intimidating. In a game played by the world’s most elite physical specimens, the kind of player you seek doesn’t come along very often.

Vic, when trying to stop the run, how many yards is a fair amount allowed and still getting the job done?

You don’t need stats to make that determination. What did Justice Stewart say? You’ll know it when you see it. A defense will know it when it feels it, because there’s an unmistakable feeling of accomplishment when a defense whips its opponent up front and denies rushing yardage. A quarterback scramble can make the stats lie, but neither the tape nor the smile on a defense’s face lies. When you whip your man you don’t need to look at the stats. If the Packers defense walks off the field on Sunday knowing it whipped its man, we’ll all have a smile on our face.

Vic, I’ve turned the page and look forward to enjoying the new season. The baloney stops now.

I invite everyone in the “Ask Vic” family to join me on Sunday as the kicker raises his right arm – do kickers still do that? – and I whisper to myself, “The baloney stops now,” except I won’t say baloney. The start of another season thrills me.